


Praeterita Vita

by scarheadedferret



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Past Lives, Soulmate AU, i mean the character deaths are harry and draco but its hard to explain they're alive in the end tho, ok theres a death but its only the omcs i swear not harry or draco or anyone else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 05:49:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13874475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarheadedferret/pseuds/scarheadedferret
Summary: Slughorn gives the 8th years a potion that shows them their past life, if they’ve had one. Harry realizes his past life is far different from anything he could have ever imagined.





	Praeterita Vita

**Author's Note:**

> ok guys NOTHING is historically accurate. All of the original characters never existed :^p. I'm not sure if there is another palace near Versailles, but there is in this fic so yay!! oof this idea has been in my head for so long, enjoy!

“The  _ Praeterita Vita  _ potion, if successful, should tell you several things,” Slughorn announced to his group of 8th years, “whether or not you have had a past life, if anyone in the vicinity was involved in your past life, and to give you an insight of your person’s life. Directions are on page 576, you have two hours,” 

 

Harry groaned, he hated double potions and from looking at his directions, the potion was extremely complicated. At least he had Dean as his partner, who was fairly good at potions and could keep Harry from blowing up his cauldron. 

 

Their desk was in the back corner of the classroom, and by force of habit, Harry glanced at Malfoy as he set his ingredients down. When Malfoy, Parkinson, and Nott had come back for their 8th year, Harry had suspected that they would try to reclaim the popularity they had held before the war. He was wrong in this however, because all of them seemed to keep their heads down, only talking to each other. Especially Malfoy, who seemed to only speak when he was called on in class. 

 

Harry would never admit it aloud but he had begun to miss the small banter they shared, Malfoy’s absence of snide remarks reminding him how much everything had changed after the war. Dean nudged him and Harry snapped out of his gaze, Dean laughed and shook his head.

 

“What?”

 

“You, looking at Malfoy. Mate, I hate to break it to you but I used to catch Seamus looking at me like that all the time,” Harry flushed at his words. Dean and Seamus had gotten married right after the war. They were in love so it was normal for Seamus to look at his husband like that, but Harry didn’t love Malfoy, did he? He had been constantly stopping himself from thinking about a sharp jaw and piercing grey eyes, telling himself that he shouldn’t be thinking of Malfoy in  _ that _ way.

 

Harry shook his head, “I- I don’t-” he sputtered. 

  
“Don’t worry mate, it’s ok to like him, he’s a git yeah but... he always gave us extra food in the cellar and would cast heating charms, you know?” Harry sighed, realizing that he would not be able to convince Dean that there was no way he could ever  _ like _ Malfoy.

 

They completed the potion after a grueling two hours. Slughorn gathered each potion from the table, checked to see if they were made properly, then gave the successful potions back to their groups to see if they worked. Harry took a dose and waited to see if the orb that indicated a past life formed. Apparently your past self carried your soul, so if even if you were in a different body and had a different life, your soul would remain the same, lots of people used the potion to try to find their soulmate, but only few succeeded. 

 

“Why look at that! Harry has had a past life!” Slughorn shouted, jovial. Harry looked above his head to see a violet, glowing orb. Only Smith, Padma, and Malfoy had a past life besides himself. Shockingly though, Malfoy’s orb was the same color of violet as his. 

 

“Well boys, it seems as though your souls knew each other! Touch the orb and you’ll get a vision of your past-life, a series of the most significant events for your person, off you go!” Harry reached up and gently tapped his orb. His fingers slid right through the misty substance and he thought it didn’t work until he looked around.

 

He was in a ridiculously extravagant room, that looked like it predated electricity. Harry looked at the person lying in a large four-poster bed that was placed along the back wall of the room. It was a man, with curled ebony locks that fell to his shoulder, and bright green eyes, similar to his own. 

 

“Potter,” someone whispered and Harry flinched. He turned to his right to see Malfoy next to him, watching the vision as well. But, if Malfoy was here, where was his person? Then, another man with hair styled similarly to the man in the bed, but blonde, walked in. He had grey eyes, that looked a lot like Malfoy’s. 

 

“That- that must be me, and that’s you,” Harry said, pointing at the two individuals. Draco nodded his head, but didn’t comment. The two men began to speak and Harry was eager to see how their souls were connected. He couldn’t understand what they were saying until Malfoy raised his wand and cast a translation charm. 

 

“My dear Damian, you have made me wait so long. I was beginning to think you had abandoned me,” The brunette said, smirking. Harry frowned. He sounded flirtatious, but judging by their clothes and the time period, they couldn’t be- together. Could they?

 

“Pierre, my love, you know how my father can be in his speeches, he wishes to remind me of my duty to my brother and of course, the throne,” the one called Damian said. 

 

Harry stood, gape-mouthed, as the two kissed, Pierre stroking Damian’s hair. If these were their past souls, it meant that Harry and Malfoy had been in love. Harry blushed as he watched the two deepen the kiss, but they stopped when Pierre pulled back slightly. 

 

“My love, I have something to tell you,” he said, grinning. Damian quirked a brow and began to kiss Pierre’s jaw.

 

“What - is the - matter?” Damiane asked in between kisses. Pierre pulled a box from behind him and held it out to Damian. 

 

“Open it, my love,” Pierre said, leaning against the large pile of pillows that sat behind him. 

 

“A ring, Pierre, what is the meaning of this?” 

 

“We can never truly be together, my prince, but this ring promises that no matter what happens, you will always be the one in my heart,” Harry was extremely confused, how could  _ his _ soul be tied to Malfoys in  _ this _ way? They loathed each other!

 

Damian put on the ring and smiled, leaning in to kiss Pierre again. The world around them blurred, but rather than going back to the potions room, they were in a large hall with a grand table in the center that had several documents and maps laid out upon it. A group of people in silk clothing were situated around a single figure in the center of the room. 

 

Harry realized that Draco was no longer next to him, Damian must not have been in this event. 

 

“General Herriot,” called the man, who even more expensive clothing than those around him. Pierre stepped forward, and Harry realized that that must have been his last name. “You are to be stationed at the border of Paris, under General Fortis’ division,” Pierre nodded his head and stepped back. 

 

The vision faded to Pierre sitting in a small room, writing on a parchment by candle light. Harry looked at what he was writing, and found it to be a love letter to Damian, explaining how much Pierre loved and missed “his prince”. Harry was in shock, there was no denying that he and Malfoy’s souls had been enamoured with each other, and if what his textbook said was true, they were soulmates in real life as well. 

 

The scene blurred again and Harry found himself next to Draco once again. Harry opened his mouth to say something but Malfoy held up a hand to stop him. This time, Pierre was in clothes far shabbier than what he had worn before, and his hair was matted and dirty. They were in some sort of prison cell, and Damian was clutching Pierre. 

 

“I won’t let him do this, you don’t deserve it,” he told his lover. Pierre lifted a weak hand to Damian’s cheek and stroked the skin there softly. 

 

“If I die, my love, know that I have always loved you, in this world, and the ones that follow,” Before Harry could react the scene blurred and he and Draco were standing in the same large hall from before, but without the table in the center. 

 

Pierre was kneeling on the ground, the older man from before was holding a sword to his throat. Across the room, Damian was being held back by one of the guards, tears streaming down his face. 

 

“Father! Please!” Damian shouted, voice breaking. 

 

“No, Damian, you must see, this kind of behavior is forbidden, I must teach you a lesson,” The man, who was Damian's father, drew back the blade, and stabbed Pierre in the chest. 

 

Pierre made a guttural sound and cried Damian’s name before he crumpled to the ground. Barely anything could be heard over his lover’s screams. Harry made a noise of shock and turned to see Malfoy’s reaction, his lips were thinned and his expression was blank, but his eyes were wet 

 

As the visions began to fade for the last time, Harry caught sight of Damian grabbing a gun from the nearest officer and shooting himself in the head. A moment later, Harry was back in the potions classroom, tears welling in his eyes. He turned to see Malfoy staring at him from his desk.

 

“Mate? What did you see?” Ron asked from his place next to Hermione, confused as to why Harry was looking at Malfoy in such a way. Harry left his desk and walked right up to Malfoy, cupping his cheek. Harry swiped his thumb at a tear that had fallen, stroking Malfoy’s face in a strangely familiar way. A moment later he and Draco were locked in an embrace. Harry sobbed into Draco’s shoulder as the taller one clutched his back. 

 

The whole classroom fell silent as they shockingly watched the former rivals hold each other. 

 

“Draco, what were your names?” Pansy asked quietly. 

 

Draco sniffed and raised his head, “Pierre Herriot and Damian Leroy,” he answered. Hermione gasped. 

 

“You were- oh my god, oh my god,” she said faintly. The whole class looked at her expectantly.

 

“Pierre Herriot and Damian Leroy were lovers in the 18th century in a palace near Versailles, Damian's father was a second cousin of the king, and Pierre was an officer. It’s a famous story in the muggle world, because when their relationship was revealed, Pierre was killed by Damian’s father and Damian shot himself in the mouth immediately after. They loved each other at a time where it was forbidden. 

 

“They have the letters pinned up on a wall in Versailles. I saw them in the summer of 5th year during the holidays. But… when past lives are tied in this way, it means that the two individuals, are soulmates,” 

 

Everyone stood in sundry states of shock.  Harry ignored them and looked towards Draco. 

 

“My- my love,” Harry croaked. Draco’s eyes widened. 

 

“How, how can you love me? After all that I’ve done?” he whispered.

 

“I promised to love you, in that world, and the next,” Harry murmured, before leaning in to kiss Draco. Harry knew that Draco Malfoy was his soulmate, and he found that he wouldn’t have it any other way. 


End file.
